The theme of violence in art is an attempt at an aesthetic understanding of a traumatic action. The theme is often associated with the depiction of wars and is found in any form of art. Vividly expressed in the era of the Renaissance and Baroque. In Western art of the same time, violence against a woman is a popular subject of iconography.

In the twentieth century, when there is a change in artistic principles and the rejection of academicism, the image of violence becomes outrageous and exaggerated. Frequent are frighteningly natural depictions of the consequences of war, violence against human bodies, spectacular and poignant scenes. Thus, the artists tried to point out problems both within society and within individuals.

The problem of violence is studied from various angles: family, social, perverted, political, sexual. In contemporary art, an image can also be associated with a broader meaning, such as references to cultural signs, concepts, being an image or a sign. As a rule, these are sharp scenes that can cause a range of emotions in the viewer: from complete denial, disgust, fear and shock to gradual acceptance.

In Belarusian art, the theme of violence is vividly raised after the political events of 2020. In their art, the artists reacted to violent actions during the detention of protesters and in places of deprivation of liberty, and show their active political position.

Belarusian artist Lesya Pcholka in the project "Invisible Trauma" explored the experience of Belarusians who went through psychological abuse by the state. The author focused on the emotional state and feelings of constant fear, helplessness, paranoia, insecurity or difficulty leaving the country. She presented cases of post-traumatic stress disorder and real stories of people about knocking on the door, phone calls from unknown numbers.

Yana Chernova in her work "Belarusian Venus" raised the issue of physical violence and torture in prisons. The artist used the image of Rembrandt's Venus. A naked woman with multiple marks of beating reflects the movement of the Belarusian opposition and the systematic violence of the protesters.